Entering the world of SDR!

[Mountaineer304]

So yeah I’ve been a ham for about ten years but have just recently been getting into SDR stuff… I mainly need a good quality SDR radio for HF stuff, 3mhz-54mhz. I wouldn’t mind to monitor vhf/uhf stuff too.. So should I get a RTL Dongle V4 with a dipole kit to start out? Or should I just get one of the Airspy or SDR Play units? I want to be able to access a decent chunk of scope at a time too. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. And what kind of antenna? A dipole or a magnetic loop?

 

[N1EXA]

NESDR SMArt HF Bundle: Quality 100kHz-1.7GHz Software Defined Radio RTL-SDR Set | eBay

NESDR SMArt SDR bundle including custom antenna base w/ low-loss RG-58 cable. The NESDR SMArt HF Bundle utilizes a well-designed upconverter--the Ham It Up--to receive HF, NOT direct sampling hacks. Included is a Ham It Up v1.3 upconverter, installed in a custom black aluminum enclosure; an...

www.ebay.com

This is the way I went - The Up converter really helps on the front end of the SDR for HF listening . You need a delta loop or good tuned dipole.

The 125 mhz hf Up converter works great on a Standard Police scanner if you want to listen to WRMI or some other Station with Dedication.

Delta Loop for HF

Im running HDSDR with the Correct DLL File and USB drivers on Multiple computers with no problems.

Releases · hayguen/ExtIO_RTL

ExtIO wrapper for librtlsdr. Contribute to hayguen/ExtIO_RTL development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I ran A USB extender cable to get the SDR far away from the computers and closer to the outside antenna - It gets you far
away from any Shack noises like PCs and Lights that generate noise.

Extra Long 25Ft USB 2.0 Female TO Male F/M High Speed Extension Cable Cord New | eBay

Both low and high-speed USB devices will function equally well with this USB extension cable. Connectors : USB Type A female to Type A male. Both low and high-speed USB devices will function equally well with this USB extension cable.

www.ebay.com

HDSDR Homepage

HDSDR SDR Application

www.hdsdr.de

Pete N1EXA

 

[N1EXA]

You can have fun with this hobby or it can eat you alive !

See it all the time !

Pete N1EXA

 

[Mountaineer304]

You can have fun with this hobby or it can eat you alive !

See it all the time !

Pete N1EXA

I believe it just like ham and dmr I see guys using them 5-7 years no issues

 

[N1EXA]

I believe it just like ham and dmr I see guys using do fkes 5-7 years no issues

Once you figure out how to make it work with the correct Files you can find SDR software that you enjoy using.

I like HDSRD but other Members here may no like it or have another favorites.

The Noo Smart SDR gets warm but I mounted mine to A heat sink and its fine.

The Thing is sweet to really Home in on CW signals and SSB but the antenna is the Secret Sauce. Too Many Newbies

run a wire not thinking of the frequency and Line Impedance and expecting top results or using the supplied antenna which

is more of a box filler.

Enjoy
Pete N1EXA

 

[Mountaineer304]

Once you figure out how to make it work with the correct Files you can find SDR software that you enjoy using.

I like HDSRD but other Members here may no like it or have another favorites.

The Noo Smart SDR gets warm but I mounted mine to A heat sink and its fine.

The Thing is sweet to really Home in on CW signals and SSB but the antenna is the Secret Sauce. Too Many Newbies

run a wire not thinking of the frequency and Line Impedance and expecting top results or using the supplied antenna which

is more of a box filler.

Enjoy
Pete N1EXA

So stay away from the dongles?

 

[N1EXA]

So stay away from the dongles?

The dongle Is fine there are many out there I just like the Noo stuff because its compatable with Software you will see lots on ebay and there
all got thier CCR Issues.

I think just sticking it into you laptop USB port and letting it hang there is a bad idea because it stresses out the plug and you are next to

a noise generator (PC) so I run an USB extention and have the SDR out at the HF antenna feed Point.

I find the SDR dongle direct to the HF antenna to have many issues because it lacks decent filtering to I run the HF up converter.

You taking HF and putting it 125 Mhz Up in Frequency where the SDR is pretty efficient and running there - the Upconverter has some good
feed point filtering but i run a AM broadcast band Trap to kill the local 1340 and 1420 KHz AM sites near me. You can run An Fm

Trap if the local Music station get into everything like on the Airband.

You just ad 125 Mhz to the SDR software at the option Section and this software does its job.

Broadcast AM High Pass Filter (2.6 MHz HPF) by RTL-SDR Blog | eBay

This is a HPF and not a notch, so it does not pass VLF/LF either. This is an RX only filter. Pass band is from about 2.5 MHz and above. Insertion loss is less than 2 dB, and mostly less than 0.3 dB between 5 – 30 MHz.

www.ebay.com

Broadcast FM Band Stop Filter (88 - 108 MHz FM Trap) by RTL-SDR Blog 642419993872 | eBay

Also known as “FM Trap”. Notes: RX filter only. Designed for SDR users, but might also be useful for TV users struggling with FM interference. e.g. Channels between 76 - 88 MHz could be attenuated enough to lose reception.

www.ebay.com

Read around There is a learning Curve its not going to run out of the Bubble pack and do majic stuff you need to make it work for you.

Pete N1EXA

 

[n9mxq]

I love my SDRPlay RSP1A. coupled with SDR-Radio.com - Software Defined Radio | Home software, it's a treat. And I agree with other statements.. No matter which SDR you get, the antenna is what makes or breaks it.

 

[N1EXA]

Here is a short Video I did on a CCR SDR years back.
Proves the $10 ones are as they say !

Pete N1EXA

 

[Mountaineer304]

Here is a short Video I did on a CCR SDR years back.
Proves the $10 ones are as they say !

Pete N1EXA

So maybe I should start small with a dongle lol

 

[N1EXA]

Start Small dont spend to much and see if you like it and feel it out.
These things are not going to replace a ham HF radio but there pretty Cool for what they do
I have one as Pan Adaptor on my Galaxy Saturn CB base so I can see what the radio
is looking at .

Here is a simple low Budget Noo Electic - it does recomend the Up Converter for Below 25 MHz in the Discription.

Nooelec RTL-SDR v5 SDR - NESDR SMArt HF/VHF/UHF (100kHz-1.75GHz) USB Radio USA | eBay

For a version which includes an antenna set, see product ID B01GDN1T4S. With a much narrower form factor than RTL-SDR v3, you can run multiple NESDR SMArt v5 side-by-side with any USB-compliant device, including tightly-spaced embedded devices like the Raspberry Pi.

www.ebay.com

Pete N1EXA